White House Protest Continues

by TamilNational, May 22, 2009

The protest in front of 'White House' by Tamils continues into the eleventh day, thousands of Tamils are daily staging their protest at the rally against the continuing crisis for Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka.

In conjunction with the current protest by thousands of Tamils in front of the White House, now in its 11th day, human rights organization Ilankai Tamil Sangam (aka Sangam), an association of Tamil Americans, has issued a statement supporting the demonstrations and demanding action in response to the continuing crisis for civilians in Sri Lanka.

The statement said "the Sinhala-dominated government of Sri Lanka says that the latest phase of the long ethnic civil war in Sri Lanka has ended, but the crisis for Tamil civilians continues."

They demand: Immediate access to all Tamil areas for humanitarian workers, the UN & the media, screening monitored and aid delivery by UNHCR & ICRC, UN-run IDP camps independent of GoSL, resettle Tamil IDPs promptly in their own lands, de-militarize Tamil areas & formulate political settlement for autonomy.

Though celebrations go in Colombo the Tamil civilians are in crisis; 300,000 Tamil civilians traumatized and confined to GOSL internment camps, 25,000 Tamil civilian casualties in last week of war, no access to conflict area by humanitarian workers & journalists, disappearances during the screening process, including three doctors who cared for displaced, internment camps guarded by military and paramilitaries with disappearances, rapes, starvation deaths and no freedom of movement.

Tamils in Sri Lanka are intimidated and humiliated during Sinhala celebrations and are living in fear. Their voices squeezed, Sri Lankan government proposing a decades old solution that was rejected by all moderate Tamils including Tamil National Alliance.